It’s funny how many parents start to obsess over everything their babies do, right down to what’s in their diaper. To be fair though, baby poop can tell you a lot about their health, so it is useful to pay more attention to those dirty diapers. But how do you know what’s normal and what’s not?
Before you become a parent, talking about poop in everyday conversations is unheard of. But the moment you have a child, poop permeates everything… including conversations. “My baby hasn’t pooped in days. My baby pooped five times today. How to help baby poop? Why is my baby’s poop green? IS MY BABY’S POOP NORMAL?”
These are just a few among the many poop-related questions and problems parents ask and face on a daily basis. That’s why we’re here to help with our super guide on everything baby poop-related!
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Baby Poop: What’s Normal and What’s Not
When you become a parent, not only are you less grossed out by the thought of poop, but you also begin to understand that it’s part of having a healthy body. In fact, we expect it and we worry if, at some point, our baby stops pooping regularly.
When my newborn couldn’t poop 24 hours after birth, I was so distressed. I remember praying so hard that he would already do it so that we could already be discharged from the hospital. From then on, I learned to monitor my baby’s pooping habits, and check if his poop is normal or if I should be concerned.
So before we jump on to the topic of how to help baby poop, here are some things we need to learn about our child’s poop – what’s normal and what’s not.
Getting to know newborn poop
The good news is that babies don’t poop in the womb. The bad news is, that your baby’s poop for the first few days is a sticky, greenish-black substance called meconium.
It’s important that meconium is passed because it is made up of everything your baby ingested while in your womb, like skin cells, mucus, and amniotic fluid. After all the meconium leaves your baby’s body, his stools will become softer and lighter in colour.
If you are worried about how to help baby poop out all that meconium (that is, if he hasn’t within 24 hours), do not hesitate to ask for help from the nurses in the maternity ward.
Your breastfed baby’s poop
If your baby is exclusively breastfed, don’t be surprised if his poop looks like cream cheese with seedy mustard mixed through! In fact, it may even look like diarrhoea, but unless your baby is showing or experiencing other symptoms (e.g. fever, more cranky than usual), there’s no need to worry.
Breastfed baby poop looks disgusting but actually doesn’t smell terrible. It might also take on the shade of food you last ate, e.g. spinach = greenish-yellow poop. If you have cracked nipples, don’t be surprised if your breastfed baby’s poo is tinged with blood.
This can be easily sorted by speaking to a lactation consultant or doctor and you’ll notice the red in your baby’s poop fades away.
Sometimes, breastfed babies go for long stretches of time without pooping (even up to seven days). Now, before you get worried about how to help baby poop in this instance, remember that it’s quite normal. This is because breast milk is so beautifully digestible that there’s little waste that accumulates and passes out as stools.
However, if you notice that your baby is in a lot of discomfort or his tummy is badly distended, then you should bring your baby to a paediatrician without delay.
Your formula-fed baby’s poop
If your baby drinks formula milk, then his poop will be different in both smell and texture than a breastfed baby’s.
A formula-fed baby’s poop will be a brownish-yellow colour and have a pasty, almost peanut butter-like texture. Their poop is also more formed and smellier than that of breastfed babies. You’ll also notice that they pass stools more frequently and regularly than a breastfed baby.
As with a breastfed baby, if you are worried that your baby hasn’t passed stools for a long time and are wondering how to help your baby poop, it’s always good to consult a paediatrician.
Here’s a quick baby poop chart by age, according to Healthline:
| Days 1-3 | First 6 weeks | After starting solids | |
| Breastfed | A newborn will pass meconium by 24-48 hours after birth. It will change to a green-yellow color by day 4. | Runny, seedy, yellow stool. Expect at least 3 bowel movements per day, but may be up to 4-12 for some babies. After this, baby may only poop every few days. | Baby will usually pass more stool after starting solids. |
| Formula-fed | A newborn will pass meconium by 24-48 hours after birth. It will change to a green-yellow color by day 4. | Light brown or greenish stool. Expect at least 1-4 bowel movements per day. After the first month, baby may only pass stool every other day. | 1-2 stools per day. |
An older baby’s poop
Once your baby starts solids at around six months of age, you’ll notice changes in his poop too, whether he’s breastfed or formula-fed.
Baby poop colour is very related to food, so do not be surprised if his stools take on the colour of whatever he has been eating, whether that’s broccoli-green or beetroot-red! You may also notice pieces of undigested food in his poop (e.g. corn kernels). Nothing to fret about here – it’s normal.
Solid food intake may also herald constipation in your baby. In order to avoid this, offer your baby foods that are rich in fibre, such as avocado and papaya. You can also introduce water now. A few sips of water (or even breast milk) after a meal will help keep his poop nice and soft.
As much as possible, avoid constipating foods such as white bread, cheese, carrots and white rice.
Strange Poop Explained
If your baby’s poop is green and frothy, they’re probably getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk.
Foremilk is the low-calorie milk that comes first in feeding and hindmilk is the good, higher-fat milk that comes later. It might be that you’re not feeding your baby long enough on each breast.
Your baby fills up on foremilk on the first breast and before they can get to the hindmilk, you switch them over to the second breast for more foremilk. This usually happens when you try to breastfeed for a fixed amount of time instead of letting your baby set the pace.
To ensure your baby gets the right balance of foremilk and hindmilk, let your baby finish feeding on one breast before offering the other. Or start the next feed on the same breast you ended the last feed on.
If you’re giving your baby an iron supplement or an iron-fortified formula, their poop may turn dark green or almost black.
Poop Problems You Should Discuss With Your Doctor
If your breastfed baby poops frequently and isn’t gaining weight, they may not be getting enough to eat.
Your baby might be having diarrhoea if their poop is runnier than usual and appears to be more water than solids.
If your baby’s poop is hard, looks like pebbles and is streaked with blood, and they look uncomfortable when they poop, they’re probably constipated.
Slimy, greenish poop might mean mucus in your baby’s poop. This could be a sign of infection or allergy. So if it shows up for two days or more or is accompanied by other symptoms, then it’s best to see a doctor.
Bright red blood can mean several different things, none of which are good. Normal poop with a tinge of blood could mean a blood protein allergy. Blood in constipated poop could mean tears in the anus or small haemorrhoids. Diarrhoea mixed with blood could mean a bacterial infection.
Sometimes the blood in poop can look black, which means it’s been digested. If your baby’s stools are black and they’re not on an iron supplement or iron-fortified formula, check with your doctor to make sure there’s no bleeding along the intestinal track.
How to Help Baby Poop?
Image source: iStock
It’s a question all mums will ask themselves or someone else at some point: how to help baby poop? Usually, this is preceded by an extended bout of constipation or other tummy issues.
Constipation is a condition where the baby finds it difficult to poop. But since it’s normal for babies to not poop in a day, the best way to find out if your child has constipation is to look at his poop. If it is hard and dark, it’s possible that your baby is constipated.
According to Dr Maria Belen Vitug-Sales, a paediatrician from the Philippines, we should really be wary of constipation as this can cause discomfort and be very traumatic for babies. They are scared because it’s painful, so they hold on. They don’t want to poo, so they hold it in which makes everything worse.
The good news is that there usually is a solution (or two) to most poopy problems, including constipation and flatulence. In our website, you’ll find that we have good resources about what to do when the baby has diarrhoea or constipation. You may even try to give your baby a tummy massage to help your baby poop.
However, there are red-flagged baby poop problems that warrant an immediate trip to the doctor:
- There is bright, red blood or jelly-like mucous in your baby’s stools. These could indicate an infection.
- Your baby has severe constipation, indicated by tiny, hard, pebble-like bits of stool, stools staining baby’s diapers or underwear while he is still constipated (indicated watery stools that leak past the hard poop).
- Diarrhoea in young babies. If left untreated, the baby could get dehydrated very fast.
- Extreme bloating of the tummy. This could possibly indicate a food intolerance or could be a sign of another medical issue.
- White poop. Poop gets its colour from bile, so an absence of bile literally drains it of its colour, resulting in chalky white poop. White poop might be an indication of a problem with the gallbladder or liver, so it’s best to take your baby to the doctor if you notice poo this colour, just to be on the safe side.
Trust your instincts if you feel that your baby is not pooping enough, or he needs help pooping. Don’t hesitate to consult his paediatrician right away, because it may be an issue that she can help you with such as a problem with your milk supply, a virus, or sensitivity to your diet.
Here at theAsianparent Singapore, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advice or medical treatment. theAsianparent Singapore is not responsible for those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend consulting your doctor for clearer information.